


Longing for immortality

by Kure1



Category: Naruto
Genre: Akatsuki - Freeform, Immortality, OC, Reincarnation, SI
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-05-28 00:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15036578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kure1/pseuds/Kure1
Summary: Kure had one goal after being reincarnated - to obtain immortality. He never expected to develop a sense of belonging. Kure finds himself torn between leading his clan to greater prominence or pursuing his ultimate goal of immortality. [OC/SI]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU: Kaguya doesn't exist and some jutsu are nerfed. (I.e Shadow clones and Edo Tensei). Strictly speaking, it's inaccurate to call this fic an SI, considering the only intentional similarity between myself and Kure is our shared fear of death. Sorry for the sudden change from first to third person after the first few paragraphs, I was still experimenting with what kind of style I wanted to go for. Feel free to tell me which you preferred.

Being reborn in the Naruto world was quite the jarring experience. My earliest memory in this life was being passed around as a baby. I could clearly distinguish Konoha's insignia on the forehead of everyone that was holding me. I did entertain the notion that my new family were simply ardent and very dedicated cosplayers, but witnessing The Hokage Rock instantly dispelled my doubts. I'm surprised my birth is when i became sentient, considering that babies develop consciousness while in the womb.

Being a baby was awful, no seriously, it was purgatory. I found myself in a state of perpetual boredom, unable to undertake even the most mundane activities. When I finally was capable of crawling I was ecstatic, giggling with glee as I finally gained some semblance of independence.

The worst part was my inability to communicate, considering all i could do was make gurgling noises or cry. Yes, I occasionally cried. Not because I was incapable of controlling my emotions, but because I found that it the most effective way of communicating that I wanted something. It was honestly quite humiliating, but I found it preferable to lying in a pile of my own waste.

The first week of my new life was a dull affair, I spent the majority of it thinking or sleeping, not that i had much else to do; at least it gave me ample time to come to terms with my new situation. Initially I assumed I was born within a shinobi family, but I started to question that, given the physique of my caretakers was hardly ninja-esque. In my first month I had only seen my caretakers, I had yet to see my father, and hadn't seen my mother since birth. At the time I assumed they were on a mission.

With little to do my thoughts drifted to contemplating my current situation. I was in the elemental nations. Being reincarnated in the Naruto world was simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. On one hand, the chances of a gruesome and early death are absurdly high, considering i'd be expected to put my life on the line; moreover I'm sure that i'll be expected to carry out all manners of nefarious deeds `for the sake of the village'. Despite that, I couldn't be happier. Immortality. Immorality is legitimately attainable in this world. Had you asked me in my past life what my greatest fear was, without hesitation i'd have said `dying', I am and always have been terrified at the prospect of dying. I should clarify, I don't live everyday in crippling fear that I may die, nor am I a hypochondriac. It's just that the prospect of ceasing to exist after I die is utterly and truly terrifying. I can't remember how I died in my past life, as far as I know i died in my sleep for some inexplicable reason at the ripe old age of twenty. I have no way of understanding the circumstances of my reincarnation, but i'd be a fool to assume that I would be reincarnated with my memories again.

It didn't take long for me to become enthralled by the prospect of immortality. I can't recall I time that I've been so determined to achieve something; I'll do whatever it takes. I'm under no illusions that it will be easy. The only ones in the Naruto series who had immortality, or at least pseudo immortality, were Hidan, Sasori, Orochimaru and Kakuzu. In other words, only S class missing-nin had managed to obtain some measure of immortality. This wasn't surprising, considering techniques relating to immortality were kinjutsu.

First and foremost, Kure found that the most prudent course of action was to assess the value of each form of immortality.

Hidan's immortality was the only one which practically made him invincible, providing he didn't get dismembered or evaporated, making it seem like an attractive option on the surface.

The problem with it, was that it likely required devotion to Jashin. Devotion being the keyword, not faith; that distinction is incredibly important. If it was just a matter of faith, Kure had no problem on that front, as knowing Hidan can survive having his head cut off and having a spear through the heart is more than sufficient for him to believe in Jashin's existence. Devotion however, requires accepting and adhering to whatever insane principles he suspects Jashin demands to be followed, for instance he's pretty sure Hidan was required to regularly kill people and conduct sacrifices. Being required to follow Jashin's principles is the equivalent to being subservient to a nutjob deity that seems to crave death, despair and nothing else.

Kure also had suspicions on just how immortal Hidan was, whilst he knew he couldn't die in combat via ordinary means, he wasn't sure if Hidan was immune to simply dying of old age. It seemed unlikely, but it was certainly possible. After all, judging from Hidan's attitude he was likely relatively young.

In terms of the available forms of immortality, this was certainly the least preferable. Having to follow whatever barbaric tenants Jashin had was one thing, but the fact that Jashin could likely revoke the immortality on a whim and without notice was unacceptable. Which was unfortunate, because interestly enough Hidan's immortality was the most human.

One of the most interesting parts about Sasori's immortality is that he wasn't required to kill others to extend his life, unlike the other methods of immortality. However, Sasori's method of immortality was inferior to Orochimaru's and Kakuzu's for two reasons. Firstly, being subjected to live in a `container' that didn't even have flesh would feel like some sick form of torture. Secondly, he was incredibly fragile. Not to say he was weak, he was S class for a reason, possessing numerous techniques and abilities to easily decimate his enemies. But his immortality hardly presented him an advantage in combat, other than not feeling pain; all it took was one good shot to the heart and it was game over. He was formidable, but fragile.

Hidan's immortality wasn't even worth considering and Sasori's was a last resort, which would be pursued only in desperation. Which left Orochimaru and Kakuzu.

Frankly, Orochimaru's version of immortality was an enigma, Kure didn't fully grasp how it worked. From what he remembered, it allowed him to transfer his soul into another's body with the caveat that the new body got weaker over time and had to be replaced roughly every three years, and the longer he stayed in the body the more it rejected him. From Kure's perspective it was probably as good as he could hope for; it was incredibly high maintenance, but that's a small price to pay. The only problem was that Orochimaru was the most dangerous and cunning of the lot, and it's not like Kure could just go up to him and ask him nicely if he'd be willing to share a jutsu that he worked on so hard it got him kicked out of the village.

Kakuzu's immortality was almost perfect. The maintenance of having to take the still beating hearts from live shinobi wasn't ideal, but Kurecould work with that. Ideally, the whole having multiple hearts thing could be done without simultaneously becoming a tentacle monster, but if that's what it took then it wasn't too bad when considering that it had lot's of practical uses, such as increased combat potential, extra durability, and the ability to reattach limbs. Yep, not bad at all. Stockpiling money should definitely be added to the to-do list.  
~~~~~~~~~~~

1 Month old

Kure despised being held, it was even worse when the person doing the holding wrongly assumed that he would enjoy listening to baby talk or watching them pull ridiculous faces. Even now, a grown man was pulling various faces to try and get a response, did this clown not realise that his lack of reaction indicated disinterest. It was infuriating. Normally Kure was a tactile person, but that was only among those he was close with; otherwise he found it extremely uncomfortable and annoying, he couldn't wait until this man finally subsided with his futile attempts to elicit a response. Unfortunately, this man proved more persistent than most; apparently he was also somewhat important, given that Kure's regular caretakers were calling him "Takao-sama". Kure found that the most effective way to get people off him as a baby was to ignore them, however dread settled in his stomach when he realised that this man seemed to take getting a reaction out of him as some sort of challenge.

Thirty minutes. It took thirty entire minutes for Takao to give up and leave. Takao was clearly eccentric. Kure couldn't decide whether he was impressed at his tenacity or astonished at the ridiculousness of it. He didn't find himself disliking the man though, even after being ignored he was a good sport about it. Much better than the last woman who held him, who was seemingly indignant that she wasn't graced with an appropriate amount of attention. Towards the end Kure was tempted to reward his tenacity with a reaction, but decided against it, considering the last thing he wanted was to encourage others to do the same.

Five minutes later Takao returned, carefully picking Kure up whilst humming a song and bouncing on his toes, a wide grin etched on his face. "Well Kure, looks like it's finally time, i've been looking forward to this all month"

Kure had no idea what was happening, the man had suddenly taken him outside for the first time since he was born, excluding when he travelled from the hospital he was born in. Outside was pitch black, the only source of illumination being the lanterns spread out among the vicinity.

Takao was walking at a lackadaisical pace, clearly unhurried. Before long it became clear that he was intentionally taking his time, given that he had gone in a circle as they were now almost back to their original location. The question was why. Was he simply going for a stroll? No. The man said he was waiting for this all month, and seemed quite excited. He'd be waiting all month and Kure was a month old, was this merely a coincidence? Was he waiting for someone to approach him, a meeting perhaps? Kure was interrupted from his reverie by the man's voice, "It should be fine now, they've had more than long enough to finish the preparations", after that, everything became a blur. Around a minute later Kure had no idea where he was. From what he could summarise, the man likely shunshined among rooftops after his initial jump.

The foreign sensation of traveling at such high speeds was invigorating, it felt like riding a high speed roller coaster. It was Kure's first encounter with the superhuman abilities that are commonplace in this world, he found it fascinating and took great delight in that he'd soon be capable of such feats.

Takao braced his ears for the sound that never came, glancing down, he noticed that rather than crying, as babies are prone to do if they're ever shunshined, Kure's face was marked with pure delight. At this, he couldn't help but roar with laughter "That's the spirit Kure! I'm glad you finally decided to grace your grandad with a smile, if I knew you'd enjoy me running around so much I'd have just done that in the first place instead of trying to contort my face in every way imaginable. I'd run about some more, but it's about time for your baptism to formally become the clans heir to commence and i'd rather not get chewed out by your father for being late."

Unsurprisingly, this new information set Kure's mind whirring. Knowing this man was his grandad was useful, but it's importance paled in comparison to what else he said. Clan heir. Kure was ecstatic, whilst he didn't have time to consider the full implications, he knew being a clan heir, regardless of the clan, would go a long way in helping him achieve his goals. It meant that already he was guaranteed to have protection, status and resources at his disposal.

As for the baptism, it was probably safe to assume it wouldn't proceed in a traditional sense, considering religion didn't seem prevalent within Konoah. It was likely a ritual of some sorts, officially marking his position within the clan. Sensing that they had stopped moving, Kure looked up to notice that they had arrived at their destination, in front of him was one of the largest buildings he had yet to see in Konoha, likely his clans hall.

A man stood slouched against the entrance to the hall, immediately straightening as he saw Takao. Takao didn't seem interested in reproaching him for his actions, instead electing to ask whether the preparations were complete. The man replied in the affirmative, then we waited as he entered the hall to announce our arrival.

Entering the hall after being given the go-ahead, Kure was astonished by the sheer amount of people present. An eerily silence stretched throughout the room, despite the abundance of people there was dead silence. All that could be heard were the footsteps of Takao.

Takao walked with purpose, the crowd quickly parting to make way for him as he took long strides to the end of the hall, in which he ascended the steps of a platform. Once on the platform, Kure was handed to a man he recognised well. Fugaku Uchiha. Upon being placed into Fugaku's hands Kure noticed who was stood next to him, Mikoto Uchiha, his mother. At the time of his birth he was overwhelmed with a whirlwind of emotions so he wasn't sure, but he did think the woman who looked to be his mother looked similar to Mikoto. However, at the time his memory on her appearance was foggy, and after not seeing her since his birth he assumed she was simply a lookalike, as he doubted the Mikoto he knew would have parted from her son so soon after birth.

Kure's eyes widened as he noticed the loving gaze and warm smile given to him by Fugaku. His look was unmistakable; it was the look of a parent seeing their son for the first time. Fugaku placed Kure onto an adjacent chair, which was surrounded by four braziers, with sets of two positioned slightly in front and behind the chair. Kure's breath hitched seeing the scene before him, he could see what he thought was the entire Uchiha clan watching; they had all come to see their heir. Distracted by the scene before him, Kure noticed Fugaku was no longer besides him, instead he was in the middle of the hall, positioned behind a pile of thick timber placed within a makeshift pit, meanwhile Mikoto started lighting the braziers surrounding him. Kure could immediately feel the heat emanating from the flames. Whilst it was hot, it wasn't uncomfortable. On the contrary, it was actually quite pleasant; it was a nice contrast to the cool room temperature, like sitting next to a campfire in chilly conditions. As the fourth and final brazier was lit, Fugaku instantly went through numerous hand seals, his hands a blur, subsequently a torrent of flames were expelled from his mouth, igniting the timber. Afterwards, the hall erupted with cheers, marking the completion of the ceremony to formally recognise the new heir of the Uchiha.

Kure eagerly took in the spectacle, watching everyone congregating around the fire and chatting animatedly. It felt surreal to be the source of such a large celebration, the feeling was indescribable. The joy in the atmosphere was palpable, to the extent to which Kure found himself jealous he couldn't partake in the festivities. Kure wasn't exactly close to any of his family members in the past, with the exception of his parents; but seeing that he now had such a large extended family that were here just to celebrate his birth he couldn't help but feel a sense of camaraderie towards them.

Despite that, it's not like he knew any of them personally, so he didn't have any real attachment towards them. He wouldn't let them interfere with his goal. He'd play the good little ninja and build his reputation, and barring a ridiculous suicide mission he'd follow orders, for now. But unlike most of the ninja populace he had no intentions of letting himself being indoctrinated by propaganda to think that self-sacrifice for the village is the is unequivocal choice. As always, first and foremost he'd look out for number one; himself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: If you liked this then I'd recommend following it on Fanfiction under the same username (Kure1) as I'm unsure as to whether I'll continue to update it on ao3.

Naturally, Kure's first reaction to finding out that he was the Uchiha heir was thinking about the implications this would have down the line. Did this mean he was born in place of Itachi? Or perhaps it meant that one of Itachi or Sasuke would later become his little brother; of course, it also meant that both of them could be born, or neither. On a personal level, Kure found that he didn't really care, whatever happened it would just swap one headache with another. Regardless of what happened, the potential implications were significant.

The more Kure pondered them, the more he realised how many things could change. For instance, if Itachi wasn't born then the massacre wouldn't happen, at least by Itachi's hand, but the Uchiha would still likely plan their revolt. Whereas if he was, then Kure might have to deal with his genius of a little brother trying to murder him, assuming he doesn't develop an attachment towards Kure like he did Sasuke.

Then again, it's reckless to assume everything, or anything for that matter, will play out as it did in the story; butterfly effect and all that. Kure's mere presence could have changed so many things. Due to this, Kure ultimately decided that the matter wasn't worth thinking about, for now, he needed to play it by ear until he had more information; it made him anxious to lack so much vital information, but there's not much he could do about it other than wait. However, what he did know was that he had no intention of letting the massacre happen regardless of who would be doing the killing, it would ultimately hinder his long-term plans, which was inexcusable.

Preventing the eradication of the Uchiha would ensure that Kure would be guaranteed a position of influence in the future, moreover, the abundance of available Uchiha eyes would prevent Orochimaru from specifically targeting Kure, which is important as confronting Orochimaru at a young age would be a recipe for disaster. That encounter is one that Kure would rather put on the back-burner until he was sufficiently strong.

On a more positive note, Kure was optimistic. He was quite fond of the prospect of being the heir to the Uchiha clan, considering the plethora of benefits it would bring. The Uchiha clan were powerful and influential. From what he could remember, even if their power may have decayed from the heights it was at during the founding of Konoha, they will still the most formidable clan within Konoha, only truly rivalled by the Hyuga. Either way, they offered status, protection and resources. Honestly, the Uchiha would have been among his top three choices if he had his pick on which Konoha clan to be born into. He was grateful that he was born into a clan at all, being born in a civilian family, or as an orphan, would have made his ultimate goal significantly harder to achieve.

It would be annoying having to meet the expectations that the clan would have of him, but ultimately he believed that the majority of them would align with his goals anyway, therefore there wasn't too much to be upset about. Other than being born into a clan that should up being annihilated within the next decade anyway, but there was plenty of time to solve that issue.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The first few years of Kure's life were dreadfully dull. Currently, he's still an only child, although he knew that his parents were talking about having another. There wasn't exactly an abundance of entertainment to be found for a child in the elemental nations, and his body was still too young to undergo any serious training routines. For now, he was mostly stuck practising the basics.

Typically children entertained themselves by socialising and "playing ninja", but Kure didn't want to subject himself to such humiliation. Building rapport with volatile children wasn't yet worth the hassle, in a few years It would be worth it to foster and maintain relationships with some of them, but not now.

Thus, Kure found his entertainment in the form of messing around with his chakra. It was still boring, but at least it was productive. His boredom gave him an abundance of time to manipulate his chakra in all sorts of different manners. He started with the standard leaf exercise, which requires you to use chakra to get a leaf to stick to your head, as that's the one he remembered from the show. From this, he progressed to getting objects to stick to different parts of his body simultaneously. It was much harder than it sounded. Directing your chakra towards one object on your body is easy, but having it split towards different objects is incredibly draining when you're not used to it. The better Kure got at manipulating his chakra the easier it became to direct it towards multiple objects at once. Kure hypothesised that this was due to Chakra being like a muscle - the more you exercised it the stronger and larger it became, and like with muscles, some people (read: those lucky enough to be born within a clan) will have a genetic predisposition that facilitates faster growth.

The leaf exercise and its variations were a great way to improve chakra control whilst allowing for continued progression. Kure was confident that he wouldn't lose to anyone his age in regards to chakra control, most children weren't aware of the exercise, and even if they were they wouldn't have the mental fortitude or diligence to practise it for so long.  
~~~~~~~~~~ 

After seeing her son's dedication to improving himself, Mikoto had soon encouraged him to join her in daily stretching sessions after waking up and eating breakfast.

After a few sessions, Mikoto realised that Kure hadn't complained even once. This caught her by surprise, given the horror stories she has heard about other kunoichi trying to get their children to start to take their training more seriously.

She had mixed feelings about Kure being so dutiful and attentive at such a young age. On one hand, it boded well for his future. His determination to improving himself was endearing and makes it likely that he will grow to be a strong shinobi that her clan will be proud to call their leader. Yet at the same time, she worried that his determination was borderline obsessive, which made her concerned about his growth socially.

Mikoto had tried both subtle and non-subtle methods to get him to interact with children his age but she soon found that it was a meaningless endeavour. Her son was surprisingly astute and there were only so many ways she could attempt to trick him into playing with other children, and if she forced him to attend gatherings with other children he would simply sulk on his own, making an intentional effort to isolate himself from the other children as if to say `don't do this again or this will be the result'.

After confronting him about the importance of social interaction, she could understand his perspective. To him, they were just a bunch of immature children that would make juvenile jokes and play lame games that they somehow found fun. It was unfortunate. She can do a lot of things, but she can't change how he rightfully perceives children. For now, she'd just continue to support him and wait until he's older before taking a more active role in encouraging him to interact with others.  
~~~~~~~~~~ 

Upon being asked to join Mikoto in her daily stretching sessions, Kure saw no reason to refuse, so it soon became tradition.

Personally, Kure didn't see any downsides to it. Compared to the rest of his training stretching was a cakewalk, not only did it offer practical benefits, but it didn't involve putting himself through excruciating mental and physical exhaustion. Plus, in his past life he had always wondered what it would be like to be super flexible, so he'd hoped to sate that curiosity in this life.

After stretching daily for a month or so it simply became routine, it actually felt good to stretch out in the morning and it offered him some time to further bond with Mikoto. It actually became something he looked forward to. Unfortunately, this wasn't something he could say for the rest of his training. Kure could never understand how people would feel better after exercising. From a mental standpoint he could somewhat relate, as it did feel satisfying to know that by pushing his limits his physical capabilities and skills would improve; but other than that all it did for him was make him feel sore, hungry and tired. But alas, the obvious benefits it brought made it a necessary sacrifice. It's better to feel like shit temporarily then be killed in combat due to a lack of skill after all.

Upon finishing his hamstring stretches, he looked over at Mikoto, who was about to lead them into the next exercise. He decided that today he'd find out the answer to something that's been on his mind lately.

"Uhm, Mikoto?" She wasn't phased or bothered by the usage of her actual name, Kure had used mum/dad interchangeably with their real names, it was something he started doing as a teen in his past life, and the habit carried over to this one; although in this one his parents did request that they were only called them by their names in private, which is a request that Kure respected and adhered to.

"Yes, Kure?" She replied.

"What is the average age that an Uchiha unlocks their Sharingan?"

This question alarmed Mikoto, a frown marring her features, she didn't want Kure to become obsessive about quickly awakening his Sharingan. "You shouldn't be thinking of it that way. Sometimes the Sharingan never awakens, you'll just cause yourself undue stress if you think about it as a point of comparison. There have been plenty of Uchiha that were formidable even without awakening their Sharingan. You'll be assessed on your achievements, not what age you awaken your kekkei genkai"

Whilst it was the truth, what she didn't mention was that for the heir of the Uchiha not to have awakened their blood limit would have been looked upon with disdain by the more narrow-minded, or `elitist' of the Uchiha, which wasn't a small number due to the Uchiha generally having excessive pride over their birthright.

"You didn't answer my question" Kure immediately replied, crossing his arms dismissively.

Mikoto's eye twitched. "I know, and I'm not going to. Honestly, trust me when I say that it's something that you don't yet need to concern yourself with. For now, just continue applying yourself as you have been and you'll see the results. For many in our clan the early awakening of their eyes led to their downfall, as many become arrogant because of them and subsequently over-relied on them, using them as a crutch. Your eyes will awaken naturally in time, just be patient and wait for it to happen." Mikoto said firmly, starting the next sequence of stretches and locking eyes with Kure to indicate that he should follow along.

"Fine. But out of curiosity, would it bother you if I never awaken my Sharingan?" Kure asked flatly."

Despite his dismissive countenance, Kure was surprised to find that he actually cared about her answer. He had come to respect and care for his newfound parents to a certain extent, especially Mikoto, which may have been inevitable considering he was also close to his mother in his past life.

"Of course not" She said, her smile reaching her eyes. She looked sincere, but Kure knew she was a phenomenal actor, for the most part he would see what she wanted him to see.

That being said, Kure felt like he now knew her enough to know that she genuinely cares for him, and she doesn't seem the type to let a kekkei genkai, or lack thereof, change that. He can't say that he's looking forward to the day were he might have to become a missing-nin and abandon her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not at all happy with this chapter, the next one will hopefully turn out a lot better. It's super hard to write about a guy in a kids body that only wants to train, it just led to a bunch of exposition dumps. At least now I can at least start moving things along faster. Spoiler: he'll be in the academy next chapter


End file.
